Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	knowledge_n	understanding_n	wisdom_n	6,916	5	6.5948	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95348	Theophosoi [sic] theophiloi: God's fearers are God's favourites, or, An encouragement to fear God in the worst times delivered in several sermons / by ... Nath. Tucker ...	Tucker, Nath.; Kentish, Richard.; Whitfield, Thomas.	1662 (1662)	Wing T3209A; ESTC R42917	82,402	157

by his holy Spirit who is their domestick Monitor and sweet inhabitant 'T is true what the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3.5 Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God The meaning of it is that all our strength and help lies in him we daily finde a want in our selves and God as it pleaseth him le ts out from his sufficiency unto us now a little and then a little we are ever receiving from him and enabled by his Grace and Spirit to do what is done I say the Spirit disposeth the heart to this holy meditation and that two ways 1. By enlightning the heart 2. By enlarging the heart But the time being past I shall refer what remains to some further opportunity 1. I say the Spirit enlightens their hearts The first and primary work of the Spirit is to beat out as it were new windows in the dark souls of men and to put in a principle of new light thereby giving the soul some signs of God some sense of his sweetness some glimpse of his glory And hence 't is that the holy Ghost in Scripture is sometimes called a spirit of wisdom and understanding a spirit of counsel and of knowledge Isa 11.2 sometimes a spirit of wisdom and revelation Eph. 1.17 sometimes a spirit of illumination Heb. 6.4 Now the Spirit is so called from this effect which it hath upon the heart because the Spirit causeth a spiritual and heavenly light to shine about our mindes by which spiritual things are made manifest to the eye of our understanding as by the light of the Sun bodily things are made manifest to the eye of our body The Spirit saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 2.10 searcheth the deep things of God and reveals them to us and shews us the back parts of God though somewhat obscurely as through a grate onely or darkly as through a glass In this life we know but in part And then 2. The spirit having possessed the heart he enlargeth or wideneth the heart towards God and the things of God it enables us to captivate our thoughts to the obedience of Christ to conform them to the severaignty of his grace to the rules of his Word and the remembrance of his Name Nay 3. The Spirit sanctifieth the heart and so puts it upon a continual fresh succession of holy thoughts The whole spirit soul and body of a Christian is sanctified thorowout God writes his Law in their hearts stamps his image upon the spirit of their mindes makes them partakers of the divine nature erecteth a new nature a blessed frame of grace And hence have they an ability given them of holy thoughts and meditations for as the man is so will his thoughts dispositions meditations and affections be Hence is that of the Prophet Isa 32.8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things and by liberal things shall he stand A man of a noble liberal and generous spirit will carry his heart out after worthy and noble things Nay hence is that of our Saviour Matth. 12.35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things As from the old and unregenerated heart proceed evil thoughts so from the new and sanctified heart proceed holy and sanctified thoughts gracious considerations of and holy reverend respects to God and to his Name That is the third Reason of the Point It is and should be the practice of all them that truly fear God to meditate diligently upon God and upon the things of God because the Spirit doth to this purpose enlighten their understandings and possesseth and sanctifieth their hearts 4. But then last of all it is and should be the practice of all them that truly fear God to meditate diligently upon God and the things of God because all that truly fear God stand in a marvellous neer and dear relation unto God Neer relations you know will minde one another God and his servants are neerly related he is their friend and father their God and guide their Prince and portion their shield and their exceeding great reward Nay Beloved he is their all in all the stay and the strength of their hearts for ever and therefore it cannot be but their hearts must run much upon God and upon the things of his kingdom Nay a little further every faithful servant of God every true believer hath resigned and given up his name to God he hath devoted himself to his fear Mark what holy David saith Psal 119.38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear Believers have as it were sworn themselves to the service of God I am thy servant I am thy servant saith the same holy David oftentimes in the Psalms they love the Lord with all their soul with all their heart and with all their strength and as for the Name of God they flie unto it in any difficulty and distress as unto a Garison and strong Fort or Tower Prov. 18.10 The righteous know that the Name of God is so deep that no Pyoner can undetmine it so thick that no Cannon can pierce it so high that no Ladder can scale it and hither they run for refuge Nay they walk in this Name as in a Garden or Gallery Mic. 4 5. We will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever they resolve to walk in the Name i. e. By the Laws and under the view of the Lord their God who is God of gods and Lord of lords they rejoyce and delight in it as in all treasure Psal 119.14 Now brethren sum up all together in a word and then you shall finde the force of this Argument Can the fearers of God rejoyce in his Name run unto it upon all occasions walk in it and yet not minde it and yet not have their hearts set upon it This is impossible Can they I say vouch him for their God set him up for their Soveraign converse with him as a friend and yet not think upon his Name this cannot be well conceived And thus you hear what the grounds of the Point are Let us now make some Use of it I shall improve it four ways 1. For Insormation 2. For Increpation 3. For Examination 4. For Exhortation In which Uses I shall proceed so far this day as time will permit I begin with the first the Use of Information 1. Is it so That it is and should be the practice of all them that truly fear God to meditate diligently upon God and upon the things of God Take we then hence notice That those who do not habitually daily and diligently think upon God that make not his Attributes Ways Ordinances Worship and Honour the matter of their meditation these I say are excluded out of the number and society of the true fearers of God Yea the want of this holy and heavenly meditation is laid down in holy Writ as the Badge Cognizance or Character of

wicked man saith to God Depart from me This I could evidence to you in sundry passages and practices of wicked men but for brevity sake I will exemplifie onely in that one set down in that text Job 21.12 Wicked men make it appear that God is not in all their thoughts because they desire not the knowledge of his ways As the ways of a wicked man are always grievous to God so are the ways of God always grievous to wicked men therefore they desire no acquaintance with no knowledge of them they are a very loaching to their souls they are rough sharp sad and unsuitable to their spirits and genius Wicked men as they think are provided of better ways of ways more easie smooth plain pleasant and therefore they have no manner of desire to Gods ways we desire not the knowledge of thy ways The word in the Hebrew signifying desire is rendred also to take pleasure or delight in because those things which we delight in are most desired by us and when they say We desire not the knowledge of thy ways more is intended then the bare negative of their desire we may resolve this Negative into an Affirmative thus We dislike yea we hate the knowledge of thy ways But what are those ways of God which finde so little acceptance entertainment with wicked men In general by the ways of God he intendeth not those ways in which God walketh but those which God hath made for man to walk in as namely the ways of his providence and outward administrations the ways of his commandments or those rules of life in and by which we ought to walk and regulate our whole course the ways of his Works the ways of his Word the ways of his Worship wicked men desire not the practical or experimental knowledge of these And thus much of the first Use I come to a second Use and that shall be a Use of Increpation 2. Is it so that it is and should be the practice of all them that truly fear God to meditate diligently upon God and upon the things of God This Point looks sadly and sowrely upon such as think basely unworthily and dishonourably of God upon such who in stead of holy and heavenly entertain atheistical blasphemous unbelieving and rebellious thoughts I shall give a touch upon each of these and so come to a third Use Some have gross earthly and terrene conceits of God they become vain in their imaginations about him as those spoken of by the Apostle Rom. 1.23 Thus ignorant persons who fancy God to be some old man sitting in heaven with a Crown on his head and a Scepter in his hand administring his kingdom as an earthly Prince Others though they conceive God to be a spirit and not a bodily substance yet they in their thoughts rob him of his essential and inseparable Attributes 1. Some deprive him of his Omnipresence thinking that God is not present in all places David could say Psal 139.7 8 9 c. Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold thou art there If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea c. but now wicked men on the other side are brought in speaking of God as if he were shut up in heaven and had nothing to do in the world Job 22.12 13. Is not God in the height of heaven and behold the height of the stars how high they are And thou sayest How doth God know can he judge thorow the dark cloud So again Psal 44 7. Some deny in their hearts his Omniscience as if God did not know all the transactions of men Psal 10.11 David speaking of the wicked mans thoughts tells He hath said in his heart God hath forgotten he hideth his face he will never see it So much the Prophet Isaiah insinuateth in that wo which he denounceth against wicked men Isa 29.15 Wo unto them that seek deep to hide counsel from the Lord and their works are in the dark and they say Who seeth us and who knoweth us Some deprive God of his justice thinking that although they proceed in the practice and often repetition of sin yet God will not punish them according to the cominations and threatnings of his Word If you doubt whether or no there be any such imagination in mans heart reade Deut. 29.19 where Moses saith And it come to pass when he heareth the words of this curse that he bless himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine heart to adde drunkenness to thirst Nay saith David Psal 10.3 The wicked boasteth of his hearts desire and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth or we may reade it The covetous blesseth himself So much is implied in that of the Lord unto the Jews Jer. 7.9 10. Will ye steal murther and commit adultery and burn incense unto Baal and walk after other gods whom ye know not and come and stand before me in this house which is called by my Name and say We are delivered to do all these abominations Some again think unworthily of God by denying his providence whereby he ordereth and disposeth of all things in the world as if God regarded not his people as if he cared not which way things go So did these wicked ones above my text so did they of whom the Prophet Zephaniab speaks Zeph. 1.12 that say in their heart The Lord will not do good neither will he do evil Others again rob God of his purity and holiness they conceive God to be wicked as themselves are because he keeps silence at their sins Psal 50.21 or else because he doth not presently execute wrath upon sin and sinners Eccles 8.11 Others and not a few conceive God to be made up altogether of mercy they think he will save them and not destroy the works of his own hands though they live never so wickedly Others deny the truth of God and make him a lyer as if God would not accomplish either what he hath promised to his people or threatned against his enemies so did those wicked ones of whom the Apostle Peter speaks 2 Pet. 3.3 4. Others in the last place do not onely think basely and unworthily of God but they think thoughts against him such thoughts as are directly opposite to his Name they take up high and haughty imaginations such as exalt themselves against the knowledge of God and obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ of which thoughts you reade 2 Cor. 10.4 5. Nay they have thoughts of high treason and open rebellion against heaven saying as Pharaoh did Exod. 5.2 Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice or as they Psalm 12.4 With our tongue we will prevail our lips are our own who is lord over us or as they Jer. 44.15 16 17. As for